Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has achieved wide popularity in recent years, as it provides a way to make very small mechanical structures and integrate these structures with electrical devices on a single substrate using conventional batch semiconductor processing techniques. One common application of MEMS is the design and manufacture of sensor devices. MEMS sensors are widely used in applications such as automotive, inertial guidance systems, household appliances, game devices, protection systems for a variety of devices, and many other industrial, scientific, and engineering systems.
One example of a MEMS sensor is a MEMS gyroscope. Alternatively referred to as an “angular rate sensor,” “gyroscope,” “gyrometer,” “vibratory gyroscopes,” “gyroscope sensor,” or “yaw-pitch-roll rate sensor,” an angular rate sensor senses angular speed or velocity around one or more axes. MEMS gyroscopes are widely used in a variety of sensing applications. For example, vehicle or automotive applications may use MEMS gyroscopes, to determine when to deploy the vehicle airbag or activate a stability and/or fraction control system. In addition, consumer electronics devices, such as video game controllers, personal media players, cell phones, and digital cameras, also use MEMS gyroscopes in various applications to detect the orientation and/or respond to rotational movement of the device.